


The Morning After the Life Before - Pt. XII Epilogue.

by The_Magic_Rat



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-31 09:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8572351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Magic_Rat/pseuds/The_Magic_Rat
Summary: The little cracked egg hatches.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Rabid Tiger is a huge series, which I have not posted here for that very reason. I began it roughly ten years ago, and only just finished it. If you are new to the Rabid Tiger story arc, and would like to read it, you can find the entire thing on my website here:  
> http://www.winter-wood.net/ex-libris/finalfantasy/finalfantasyindex.html

“Uncle Angeal is gonna get stepped on,” Miki stated flatly. 

“It’s okay,” said Zack, lying on the couch where so long ago he had nursed Sephiroth back to health. “He’s tough.”

Angeal did indeed seem in danger of being stepped on as the chocobo herd milled around him, heads turning, crests up, keeping alert for anything stupid enough to charge the hatching eggs. Ralph wandered out to see what all the fuss was about, and was promptly seen off, chased into the koi pond to grunt and complain at the fish, while Gunner chattered loudly about how he had defeated the mighty amphibian. Even Edgington was tense, and with good reason. Her first ever fertile egg was hatching. 

The scruffy wild male, dubbed “Chuck” for reasons that escaped everyone, threatened to kick Angeal, but that’s all it was; a threat. He was becoming well socialized, if not exactly tame. He would take treats from someone’s hand, but only after stretching his neck as far as he possibly could to reach them. 

He launched another false attack, then ran off, waving his wings and warking like an idiot. Edgington yelled something that sounded like the chocobo version of “Take a fucking valium!” Then the entire group crept closer as something wet and black tumbled out of the black egg Edgington had laid. Angeal’s first impulse was to reach for it, but decided that he liked having two hands. The wet and confused baby sat on its bottom rather shakily, looking around as the adults greeted it noisily. 

“Wack!” it squeaked.

They watched as it tried to stand, and promptly fell onto its beak and stayed there, a most reluctant tripod. Edgington lowered her head, picking the tiny thing up in a beak that could cleave a predator’s skull. She moved it to a slightly more level area in the nest, and set the baby down. It did a clumsy summersault, landing on its butt. 

“Very graceful,” remarked Sephiroth.

Angeal looked to the cracked egg the wild male had brought, forgotten now in the excitement. He reached out to pick it up, and was knocked onto his ass by Edgington using her huge head like a golf club. Angeal decided that now was a good time to go sit beside Zack. Just as he seated himself, Marcie Drover’s cat made the mistake of coming up the drive to mooch treats. The expression on its face as it was charged by a histrionic group of moronic feathered dinosaurs, warking and waving their wings, was the thing of great comedic double takes. It tore off the way it had come, a stampede of monsters hot on its tail. Meanwhile, Edgington and her new baby nudged and worried over the second egg. Angeal honestly did not think it had survived, but then the black chick began doing a clumsy version of the silly dance the adults did, hearing a noise from within the egg. 

The chick emerged rather abruptly, the split in the egg making escaping much easier. The baby was promptly greeted by its adopted sibling, and the two babies weeked and touched beaks before settling together in the nest, blinking sleepily. Content with the situation, Edgington went for a long drink of water, then called back the rest of the herd; something for which Marcie Drover’s cat was eternally grateful. The thundering herd of stupid returned to the hill and made their way over to the nest. 

None of the humans had seen the latest baby yet, but there was immediate discussion among the chocobos. Angeal could practically hear their thoughts as he watched them mill and bob their heads. _“What is this? Oh my goodness what is that in the nest? Flack do you know what that is? No I haven’t a clue, what about you, Striker? I certainly don’t know! What do you think, Sniper? Why I haven’t a clue either! What do you think…. Oh shit.”_

Angeal jumped to his feet as Gunner flung his head back, clearly meaning to dispose of one of the babies. He watched, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to move fast enough to intervene. Edgington, however, was having none of it. She beat her wings violently, managing to lift her five-hundred-pound body off the ground and give Gunner a double kick that sent him rolling. Before he could get up, she charged him and gave him a beaking that tore flesh. As he lay on his back, screaming and trying to defend himself, she threatened him with one raised claw, telling him that any more attempts to hurt her babies would result in Loz needing a new chocobo. Then she walked away. Gunner chose to remain on his back in submission, feet up, likely thinking it was just safer. Angeal walked over to him and looked down at the big goof. Gunner’s crest rose and fell cautiously, as if asking Angeal if he was angry too. 

Angeal knelt down and checked the injury. Deep, but definitely not lethal if cleaned and stitched. He sighed and gave one massive toe a friendly tug. 

“I’ll get the field medic,” he said, and rose to his feet as Gunner began howling about how everybody was being mean to him. As Angeal walked to the house to get the vet kit, he walked slowly past the nest, where there still seemed to be some discussion going on about the new chick. He could not see it, but Edgington’s display seemed to have convinced the others that it was to be accepted or else. Probably crippled from the crack or the long time being cold or both. Poor baby. Angeal needed to get a look at it. Well, only one way to do that…

He walked to the compost bin and raised the lid. “Chickies!” he called, then dodged before he was run over. The chocobos rarely ate anything they found in the compost, but they did love to snoop through the Great Forbidden Bin. Now that the chocobos were busy rooting through decomposing vegetable matter, Angeal crept over to look at the babies.

“What do we have?” asked Zack.

“Well, we have a little black ball of puff, and… something I have literally never seen before. Some sort of mutation.”

It was hard to tell exactly what he was looking at as the two babies cuddled and dreamed in their nest, partly obscured by each other and a bed of chocobo down. Angeal backed away after only a few moments and went to get the kit for Gunner, who moaned and wonked when he saw it.

“What kind of a mutation?” asked Zack. 

“It’s hard to tell at this point, but it seems to be grey. Like a real silvery grey. I think that’s what Gunner was freaking out about. We know domestic chocobos occasionally throw colour mutations, hence Shinra’s little purple monster, but I never saw a grey one.”

“Will it be okay?” asked Miki.

“I think Edgington made her opinion on the matter pretty clear,” said Angeal as he gave Gunner a shot. Moments later the huge chocobo was asleep on his back. Angeal tended the injury, then gave him a thorough inspection to make sure he was okay, finding a huge and very old scar on his thigh. Someone had tattooed a zipper over it.

“You’re a tough old bird, aren’t you?” said Angeal. “Big silly chicken.”

Gunner slept. At one point Sephiroth piled garden clippings around him so he looked like a turkey on a platter. When Gunner finally woke up, he looked around with an expression that read “What the fuck happened and how much did I drink?” He rolled onto his belly, and spent the next half hour staring at the world blearily before getting to his feet and going for a drink. Edgington gave him a half-hearted bite on the butt, then seemed to forget about the earlier incident. Angeal tried to sneak another look at the grey baby, but Edgington was having none of it. She kicked Angeal hard enough in the ass to land him on his face, then, just to end the matter, went and sat on her babies. Sephiroth watched Angeal pick himself up off the lawn.

“I thought you were a farm boy,” said Sephiroth.

“We farmed apples,” said Angeal. “Apple trees rarely kick.”

“They don’t leave great steaming piles to kick people into, either.”

“I was really hoping that was mud.”

“You’re hosing yourself off outside, farm boy,” said Sephiroth.

“First come here and give me a kiss.”

Sephiroth ignored him and went into the house. Angeal went to the outdoor faucet and turned it on to hose off the worst of the “mud” before going inside to take a bath. Before managing to shut the bathroom door, Davy and Blueberry scooted inside and into the tub with every intention of joining him. Resigned to his fate, Angeal undressed and poured a bath, seating himself between the two small chocobos. Davy immediately began preening him.

“I did something awful in a previous life,” he said, as Blueberry picked up the soggy wash cloth and repeatedly whacked him with it in an attempt to bathe him. 

After his bath, Angeal left the two small chocobos to play in the tub, and stumbled to his own room, limping rather noticeably. He no sooner entered it than he was confronted with luminous green eyes in the darkness. 

“I need seafood wor wonton from Turtle’s Paradise and I need it now,” said Genesis.

Angeal sighed. “Okay.”

***---***

It was early afternoon of the following day before anyone got a close look at the grey baby, and it did not make Angeal feel any better about the chick’s chances in life. Edgington had walked up to him to mooch snacks, and her babies were toddling along close to her feet, still a bit unsteady. They instantly hopped onto Angeal, because clearly humans were there for them to perch on. As Angeal shared some apples with Edgington, he studied the babies. The black one was a typical ball of fuzz with long legs and huge feet. Enormous blue eyes stared at him, blinking. 

“Whoo!” it said rustily.

“I believe the phrase you are looking for is ‘wooki-woo’,” said Angeal.

“Whoo!” said the baby, rather haughtily. 

“Uh huh,” said Angeal. “Less than twenty-four hours old and already needing a spanking.”

“Whoo,” stated the baby.

Angeal looked next to the grey baby. It was a silvery pearl colour, with very long legs, even for a racing chocobo. It was already taller than its sibling. It also had some sort of… growth. Angeal carefully inspected the tiny white pin point jutting from the creature’s head. Definitely not normal…

Edgington picked up her baby and moved it, clearly miffed at Angeal for looking at her baby’s “unique features”. She set it on the ground, then walked away, tiny puff balls with big feet chasing after her. Gunner came up the hill from Loz’s house just then, looking to spend the day with the other chocobos while Loz was at work. Edgington warked at him sharply, and he dutifully fell onto his back in submission. A few minutes later, Poof came up the hill, and stopped dead as she noticed Gunner on his back. She proceeded to tell him to get up, while Edgington told him to stay right where he was. Finally Angeal whistled for the big bird, who was only too happy to get away from the disagreement and go for a ride. 

“We need flour!” Zack called after him.

Angeal saddled the enormous bird, then pointed Gunner toward Cosmo Canyon and let the huge chocobo run as hard and fast as he wanted. It was a long hike for flour, but neither of them minded in the least.

***---*** 

They reached Cosmo Canyon. Gunner had a long drink, and mooched nuts and veggies while Angeal shopped for supplies, getting distracted about halfway through by some children who wanted him to play with them. Four hours later, he packed the supplies into Gunner’s saddle bags, and they rode back to the hill. Gunner waited until he was unloaded, then jogged home to Loz with Poof. He was exhausted, and the day was over. Angeal hoisted the bags with the supplies, and was about to go into the house, when the door opened and Sephiroth appeared.

“I have a question for you,” said Sephiroth.

“Random, but okay,” said Angeal. “What is it?”

“If I was a man who had a husband pregnant with triplets, and I buggered off to parts unknown for roughly nine hours on the flimsy excuse that I was getting flour, and my husband gave birth, exactly how much shit would I be in?”

Angeal dropped the supplies and tore into the house and directly to the bedroom he shared with Genesis…. who was sound asleep and clearly still pregnant. Angeal quietly closed the door and went to the porch, where Sephiroth was gathering up the items Angeal bought earlier.

“You’re an asshole.”

“Did I mention it was a hypothetical question?”

“You’re an asshole, Sephiroth.”

“I’m not the man who took off for nine hours and left his two best friends to look after Princess Peach.”

“Was he okay?” asked Angeal as they hauled the items into the house.

“No. He wanted the man he loves.”

“Sorry,” said Angeal. “I just really needed a little time alone. Can’t even take a bath without Davy and Blueberry popping in to help. With Zack sick and Genesis so weak…”

“Week?” questioned Blueberry.

Angeal gave him an apple. The little ‘bo hurried off to share it with his mother as Angeal carried the supplies into the kitchen. Sniper was raiding the fridge and eating the kale. They watched as he stole the entire kale supply, then left to share it with Edgington. 

“So glad someone in the house likes kale,” grumbled Angeal. “Because I hate the stuff.”

“Angeal I know how much you love the chocobos,” said Sephiroth. “So I am not going to make you get rid of half of them, but I am going to ask that you and Miki start teaching them better manners. We have Edgington, Sniper, Striker, Flack, Chuck, Davy, Blueberry, and two chicks. That’s nine chocobos. Eleven when Gunner and Poof come up to visit. ALL of whom I regularly find in the house, in the fridge, and in the bath, and all of this behaviour apparently stems from you. Train them, Chuckles.”

Blueberry bustled into the kitchen to open the fridge and take another apple, then closed the door and went into Miki’s room.

“They look pretty trained to me,” said Angeal.

Sephiroth went to bed. Angeal put away the supplies, then went to bed as well, undressing and slipping under the covers to spoon Genesis. He felt something move under his hand.

“We are getting too old for this shit,” whispered Angeal. 

***---***

Three weeks after the chicks hatched, the weather turned brutally cold. Edgington moved her chicks, who would in no way survive the sub-zero temperatures, even with a proper stable, a doting parent and plentiful food, into the house. The first thing she had to do was teach the babies that fire was not safe, even if the brilliant flames were fascinating. Angeal installed an antique fireplace curtain to keep inquisitive babies out, then rigged up a nest for them before the fireplace. Sephiroth said nothing about hay and bird down in the house, though he clearly wasn’t pleased. But everyone understood nothing as small and frail as a baby chocobo could tolerate the abnormally sharp and bitter early winter. Then the stalls were ripped out of Edgington’s old stable so that all the other chocobos could fit in at the same time, providing relief from the freezing winds. Davy and Blueberry continued to sleep in their place of honour on Miki’s bed. Miki didn’t mind the weather at all. She was rather excited by the phrase “It’s too cold to go to school.”

Down the hill at Loz’s house, he and Eldwyn allowed Gunner, Poof, and Warlock their own place by the fire. There would be little visiting until the weather and temperatures improved. 

The babies grew, slowly but steadily. The little black chick acquired the name Ashy because of his love of playing in the ashes every chance he got. The little grey chick was harder to name, and was becoming more of an enigma with each passing day. As Ashy grew feathers, the grey chick grew strange draping plumes, which were becoming iridescent. Furthermore, the odd little growth on its head was becoming definitely more spiraling and horn-like. It was Zack who finally asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Am I crazy, or is that a unibo?”

“There’s no such things as unibos,” said Angeal. “It’s a mutation. That’s all.”

They watched the pretty, elegant chick as it strolled over to the sofa and hopped up to watch cartoons with Miki. The eyes sparkled, as did the feathers, and there was something not quite chocobo-like about the little bird. Sephiroth went to fetch Miki’s favourite story book, Allyco the Unibo, and showed them the cover. The chick bore an extremely close resemblance to Allyco herself.

“All right,” said Zack. “Call Rufus. We’ll borrow his vet. She’ll know what this thing is.”

***---***

Dr. Briar Thatcher had no idea what that thing was. She stared at the little rainbow creature perched on the sofa, then looked out the window at Chuck, who was munching greens from a trough. Having been a wild bird most of his life, he was better suited to tolerating the cold, but not for long. Chuck was in no way special. He was a mangy quasi-tame chocobo, who had simply done what many wild chocobos had done – found a home for his egg.

“And he was carrying the egg?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Angeal. “We were sure he was the father.”

“He’s not,” she said. “Because that is not a chocobo. It is in the same family, but it is not a chocobo. For one thing, this little horn is not a mutation. It’s….” 

Dr. Thatcher stopped talking as Edgington stood up, walked over to the vet and gave her the eyeball-to-eyeball chocobo threat. 

“She’s really protective of the babies,” said Angeal. 

“Well we need to get a look at it,” said Dr. Thatcher, petting Edgington. “And I need to draw blood to see if it’s healthy and I can’t do that with mommy here.”

Zack carefully pushed himself out of his chair, still weak after all that had happened to him, and walked to the kitchen. “I wonder if we have any baked potatoes left?”

Edgington and Ashy followed him into the kitchen. Angeal and the vet pounced on the grey baby and gave it a check up in record time as Sephiroth held the beak closed. The baby made muffled angry grunts, kicking its feet, then was released to go have some potatoes. Dr. Thatcher put her things away and closed her bag. 

“I’ll let you know what the results are,” she said, and departed. Meanwhile the baby chocobo sat on the floor and did not go to have potatoes. It stared at the humans that had just forced a physical exam on it. The humans stared back. Then the baby chocobo stomped one little foot in annoyance and shot a very tiny and rather weak blast of ice at them from its horn before going into the kitchen. Angeal and Sephiroth exchanged glances.

“Well if it’s not a chocobo, and it’s not a unibo, then what is it?” asked Sephiroth.

***---***

“It’s a Frost Spirit,” said Rufus.

They were gathered in the living room of Zack’s house, watching as Perkle got to do something he very rarely got to do – play with other little chocobos. At home he was shunned utterly for his vibrant purple colouration, but here he was welcome. Edgington would not tolerate the beaking of tiny babies based on the colour of their feathers. Although Perkle was easily twice the size of the newborns, because he spent so much time around Ruskin, he had been carefully taught to be gentle. Today’s game appeared to be Climb Mommy. Edgington wasn’t sure she approved of this game, but sat patiently in her indoor nest as baby birds ran over, under, and around her.

“A Frost Spirit?” inquired Angeal.

“It is the creature that unibos are based upon. For all intent and purposes, it is a unibo, and almost as rare. Idiots hunted them relentlessly for their horns and feathers, and now they’re almost extinct. In fact I would have sworn they were extinct. I don’t know where Chuck found that egg, but he’s proved these creatures are still alive somewhere.”

“So what do we do with it?” asked Zack.

“Well I think the best approach is to just let it live and grow as it has been, with its family,” said Rufus. “When it grows up, if it’s a boy, we will take him up to the sanctuary near Icicle Inn and release him. Boys don’t tend to stay with the family unit. If it’s female, that will be a little more tricky but maybe we can find her a friend.”

“Looks like Perkle found a friend, at least,” said Zack, as he, Ashy and the little spirit chased each other. “Staying for dinner, Rufus?”

“I thought you’d never ask. Besides, I want to ask Miss Miki how she trained all these birds not to mess in your house.”

“She’s an empath, like her daddy,” said Sephiroth. “Except Zack’s empathic abilities are more limited. Miki can apparently communicate to some degree with animals.”

“Can she really?” he said, as Satin came out to hop onto Edgington’s back and watch what the chicks were doing. “What would you do if she couldn’t?”

“Appoint Angeal as King Shit of Turd Island,” said Zack. “He’s the one who keeps bringing chocobos home.”

“Oh darling husband of mine…” called Genesis from the bedroom.

“Yes, my precious jewel?”

“Could you get me my hairbrush and make-up kit?”

Angeal raised one eyebrow. “Why, exactly?”

“Because if you think I’m giving birth looking like I just fell off of a hay wagon, you are sadly mistaken. And get the new quilt, and my red and gold nightshirt. I’m not doing this looking like a drudge.”

Angeal went to help Genesis, and Sephiroth followed to offer “moral support”, meaning the razzing of a life time. Zack looked at Rufus and raised an eyebrow.

“I gave birth wearing an ugly hospital gown.”

“I gave birth under a bush,” said Rufus. 

“You win,” said Zack.

“Of course I do. Now let’s order in, shall we?” He took out his phone and pressed a button.

“Yes, sir?” said Rude’s voice.

“Rude we require take-out. That’s four adults, two almost-grown youngsters, and four small children. Eri is too young to want fish sautéed in butter and fine gold flakes.”

“So take-out from the Gold Saucer Restaurant?”

“Is there anyplace else?”

“Right away, sir.”

Dark sat up to make huffing, groaning noises at Rufus.

“Dark says she wants an order of lamb.”

“Rrrrufff….”

“And pheasant.”

“Yes sir, will that be all?”

“Get yourself something too.” 

“Yes sir!”

Rufus closed his phone, just as the little grey chick popped onto his lap to trill at him.

“Well of course I will share with you, how could I not? Now what is your name? Are you going to tell us?”

The baby hopped down to chase Satin.

“Guess not,” said Zack. He watched as the grey baby puffed cold air at Satin. “Gandalf.”

“You are not calling that precious baby Gandalf,” said Rufus.

“Why not? It’s grey, it uses magic…”

“Gandalf never crapped on his own mother.”

“That we know of! There’s a lot that’s not covered in the Silmarillion.” 

“We’re calling it Allyco,” said Miki.

Zack looked at the little Frost Spirit, then at Rufus. “Allyco.”

Rufus shrugged. “Why not. Now let’s get ourselves a bottle of rum and take a drink every time Genesis over-acts.”

“I heard that! You have no idea what I am going through in here!”

“That’s a double,” said Zack, going for the rum.


End file.
